Saturday, June 6, 2015

To the candidates: Thank you for being brave enough to run for Chair or Vice Chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. It's never easy to put your life on hold any run for anything. Never, ever. You all worked hard. And Jeff Smith and Stephanie Findley, big ups to you two!!

To the delegates: Thank you for voting. Many of you went to great expense and inconvenience to cast your vote, taking time off from work and family. If your favorite candidates didn't win, I hope you will stick around and pitch in, or at least go to bat for Russ. Lord knows he will need it because Ron Johnson is a pox on all of us.

To the winners: Martha Laning and David Bowen, best wishes for unifying a party that so desperately needs it. When in doubt, talk to people you trust who have won elections, or won in other areas of life, and see what they would do. Welcome in the grassroots folks, even if you do not agree on everything. We now have the chance to have all hands on deck.

To everyone: Wisconsin Democrats today reversed direction. We have a new chance to take back our beloved state. Let's do this.

Im not so sure that Laning was the actual victor here. Kathleen Vinehout was clearly behind the recruitment of Laning who has almost no record at all except a 20 point loss in her Senate race underperforming Burke in her district by 4 points. A party member only since 2013 I think a huge question mark will be over her chairmanship until we see what the great plan is here. Calling for unity and achieving it are not the same thing. Unless and until we have unity of purpose there can be no real unity. A lot of negative campaigning went into this victory and in politics memories are long. What this really does is give Vinehout control over the state chair and clears the way for another run for Gov. in '18.

Well, DPW has a chance, and maybe a better chance than it might otherwise have had. Now comes the hard work to make something of that chance. The politicking and voting for chairman was the EASY part....